Re: [IP] Gonna get me some new sites

>
>
> Okay, she mentions the absorption. This is one of the things I worry about
> putting Amanda on the pump so young (age 5). Is this a big problem or nothing
> to sweat????? And I would also like to know if you stop using a site for
> awhile, are you able to go back to it??? And how long should you wait, or is
> that an individual thing???
>
> Thanks for answering these questions. I really need to know everything about
> the pump.
>
> -Judy
> Amanda's mom
Judy,I was 15 (much older than Amanda) and for the first 8-10 years we used only
metal needles (pre-sof sets) so my experience is not exactly the same as Amanda's
will be. However, yes sites and absorption do become problems along the way --
they come and go. Every 5 years seems to be the point at which I reach a severe
low tolerace period and just can't get anything to work consistently for 3-6
months. It takes a lot of patience and a lot of problem solving and then things
beging to work again. I have this problem with the sof sets too although I no
longer have the skin irritation problems I had with the old metal needles which
tended to cause infections because my skin would be so abraided. I think I was
probably allergic to the needles.
I've noticed that as I've gotten older, some things have gotten easier. For
instance, I went shopping this week and realized that while I haven't gained
weight, my body proportions have changed -- probably slowly over time, but most
especially since I turned about 25 (in the last 5-8 years). This seems to make
wearing the pump thousands of times more comfortable than it used to be because
the relationship between clothing and pump sites is less traumaticI'm having
trouble here describing what I mean. As a teenager I wore loose baggy clothes to
hide my stomach and that wouldn't rub the pump. Even so, they inevitably caused
some irritation. Now I can wear much more close fitting clothes and they are more
comfortable. Someone who knows something about dressmaking might be able to
explain the different drape of the fabrics or something. This sounds so silly.
However, although it is subtle it has done wonders for those periodic difficult
times. I've also noticed that periodically as I grew (as a teenager -- I was
pretty tiny when I started pumping) and as an adult, that things begin to hurt
less. I think growup bodies do get less sensitive to certain kinds of hurts. And
no, that's not neuropathy. I don't mean that I've lost feeling.
Some people do go off the pump for a while -- I've met lots of teenage girls and
women in their early 20s over the years who have "gone off" it. I've only heard
of one person who went off the pump going back on, although of course some of them
may still get around to that even later in their lives. I think we had a profiled
member here who mentioned having done that. Going off the pump will require
starting over with a shot regime. In the shorter term, I sometimes take my pump
off for a 24 hour period and just take many small shots.
Hope that helps a little.
Ruth
> age 5 dx at 3 1/2
> ----------------------------------------------------------
> Insulin-Pumpers website http://www.insulin-pumpers.org/
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Insulin-Pumpers website http://www.insulin-pumpers.org/